Exploring the genetic diversity of leaf flavonoids content in a set of Iberian grapevine cultivars: preliminary results

In the context of global change, the environmental conditions are expected to be more stressful for viticulture. The choice of the rootstock may play a crucial role to improve the adaptation of viticulture to new biotic and abiotic threats (Ollat et al., 2016). However, the selection of interesting traits in rootstock breeding programs is complex because of the combination of multiple targets in a same ideotype. In this sense, the integration of studies about the genetic architecture for desired biotic and abiotic response traits allow us to identify genomic regions to combine and those with interesting pleiotropic effects.

Since the mid-1980s, several surveys have been carried out in La Rioja to search for populations of the sylvestris grapevine subspecies (Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sylvestris Gmelin). The banks of the Ebro River and its tributaries (Alhama, Cidacos, Leza, Iregua, Najerilla, Oja and Tirón rivers), as well as the surrounding vegetation of their valleys have been covered. So far, all the populations found are alluvial, forming part of the riparian vegetation of the Najerilla (the first reported population in La Rioja [1]), Iregua, and the vicinity of Oja valleys.

Deleterious mutations that severely reduce population fitness are rapidly removed from the gene pool by purifying selection. However, evolutionary drivers such as genetic drift brought about by demographic bottlenecks may comprise its efficacy by allowing deleterious mutations to accumulate, thereby limiting the adaptive potential of populations. Moreover, positive selection can hitchhike mildly deleterious mutations due to linkage caused by lack of recombination. Similarly, in the context of species domestication, artificial selection mimics these evolutionary processes, which can have undesirable consequences for production and resilience. In this study, we evaluated the extent of the accumulation of deleterious mutations and the magnitude of their effects (also known as genetic load) at the whole-genome scale for ca.

Climate change will increase the frequency of water deficit situation in some European regions, by the increase of the evapotranspiration and the reduction of rainfalls during the growing cycle. This requires finding ways of adaptation, including the use of plant material which is more tolerant to drought. In addition to the varieties used as scions that result in the typicality of wines, rootstocks constitute a relevant way of adaptation to more stressful environmental conditions.

Trichoderma is a microorganism present in many agricultural soils and some of its species could be used as natural biological control agents. In this work, the presence of natural populations of Trichoderma was estimated in soil vineyard and its biocontrol capacity against Phaeoacremonium minimum, one of the main agent causals of grapevine trunk diseases instead of using pesticides. Moreover, physicochemical variables in soil such as pH, organic matter and nutrients were evaluated to determine a possible correlation to natural populations of Trichoderma.